Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram

Many short windows instead of one long one. Arriving at a random time is the surest way to wait, because the gaps between windows add up to most of the day.

The temple's own history begins by admitting what is not known: its origin is lost in antiquity, and no reliable record says when or by whom the first idol was consecrated. The temple cites the Bhagavata Purana, which says Balarama visited, bathed in the Padmatheertham and made offerings. It also notes that Nammalwar, the 9th-century Alvar poet-saint, composed ten hymns to Padmanabha, which the temple treats as proof that the shrine existed by then. Wikipedia adds that it is praised in the Divya Prabandham as one of the 13 Divya Desams in the old Malai Nadu region, and that Sangam-era Tamil literature, including the Cilappatikaram, refers to it.

Dated records follow. According to the temple, it was rebuilt and its management reorganised in 1050 AD. Under Veera Marthanda Varma, who ruled Venad from 1335 to 1384, the king took control of its administration, and records show the Alpasi festival being held in 1375. In 1461 the idol was reinstalled with an Ottakkal Mandapam, a single slab of granite, in front of the sanctum. The foundation of the eastern gopuram was laid in 1566. In 1686 a major fire almost completely destroyed the temple, and rebuilding did not start until 1724.

The temple visitors see today is largely the work of Marthanda Varma, who became king of Travancore in 1729. The temple says he replaced the old wooden idol with the present one, made of an amalgam called katusarkarayogam holding 12,008 saligrams. It records that 4,000 sculptors, 6,000 labourers and 100 elephants spent six months building the stone corridor, the Sreebalippura. The gopuram, the gold-covered flagstaff and the steps of the Padmatheertham tank were also finished in his reign. Wikipedia dates the re-consecration to 1731.

On 17 January 1750, Wikipedia records, Marthanda Varma dedicated the kingdom of Travancore to Padmanabhaswamy and declared that he and his heirs would rule as the deity's servants, with the title Sree Padmanabha Dasa. The temple drew worldwide attention in 2011, when some of its vaults were opened on the orders of the Supreme Court. Since 13 July 2020, following the court's ruling, it has been run by an Administrative Committee chaired by the District Judge of Thiruvananthapuram.

Deity

Vishnu reclining on the serpent Anantha

Divya Desam

One of the 108 abodes of Vishnu

Idol

Contains 12,008 saligrams

Rebuilt

Under Marthanda Varma, from 1729

Gopuram

Foundation laid in 1566

Where

East Fort, Thiruvananthapuram

Why Padmanabhaswamy Temple matters to Hindus

Padmanabhaswamy is Vishnu in yogic sleep on the serpent Anantha, with Brahma rising on a lotus from his navel, which is where the name Padmanabha, lotus-navelled, comes from. Wikipedia describes the temple as one of the 108 Divya Desams, the holy abodes of Vishnu in the Sri Vaishnava tradition. Worshippers see the deity through three doors: the head and the Shiva lingam under the right hand through the first, the gold and silver festival images through the second, and the feet through the third.

The temple tells two founding legends. In the one recorded in its palm-leaf records and the Ananthasayana Mahatmya, the sage Divakara Muni is visited by Vishnu as a child who runs away after being scolded. The sage follows him to Ananthankaadu, where the child vanishes into a tree that falls and becomes the huge reclining form of Vishnu. The other, which the temple calls generally accepted, tells the same story of the sage Vilvamangalathu Swamiyar. In both, the sage offers an unripe mango in a coconut shell. The temple says salted mango is still a major offering and the original shell is now covered in gold.

Padmanabhaswamy is also the family deity of the Travancore royal family, whose rulers governed as the god's servants from 1750. Wikipedia records that the head of the family still walks with the Arattu procession at the two main festivals, when the festival idols are taken to Shankumugham Beach for a ritual bath in the sea.

More facts about Padmanabhaswamy

Deity

Padmanabhaswamy, a form of Vishnu in yogic sleep on the serpent Shesha

Idol

Made up of 12,008 saligrams from the bed of the Gandaki river in Nepal

Status

One of the 108 Divya Desams of Vaishnavism

Where

East Fort, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

Gopuram

Seven storeys, about 35 metres, on the eastern entrance

Corridor

The Sreebalippura, supported by 365 and a quarter monolithic pillars

Administered by

An Administrative Committee, with H.H. Sree Padmanabhadasa Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma as trustee

Current arrangement

Set by the Supreme Court ruling of July 2020

Main festivals

Alpasi in Thulam (mid-October to mid-November) and Painkuni in Meenam (mid-March to mid-April), each ten days

Also known as

Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram Padmanabhaswamy Temple, SPST

Two rules decide whether you get in at all: who may enter, and what you carry. Both are stricter than at most temples.

The temple publishes this as its dress code guidelines for darshan. Quoted rather than summarised, because the wording is the rule.

• Men: Traditional Kerala Mundu and Veshti (upper cloth) mandatory for all men entering the temple.
• Men: Trousers, shorts and shirts must be left at the locker counter.
• Women: Saree, half-saree (pattu pavadai with blouse).
• Women: Modern clothing like trousers or short dresses are not permitted.

The temple is open all year, so the best time to go depends on what you want to see. For ordinary darshan, pick a date away from the festivals. Kerala Tourism names two main festivals: Alpasi, in the Malayalam month of Thulam (mid-October to mid-November), and Painkuni, in Meenam (mid-March to mid-April). Each lasts ten days, and Kerala Tourism notes that worship timings can change at festival time. Navaratri brings the Swathi Sangeethotsavam music festival, according to Wikipedia.

If you want to see the temple at its grandest, the festivals are the time. The Pallivetta procession falls on the ninth day and the Arattu procession to Shankumugham Beach on the last. Laksha Deepam, when one lakh oil lamps are lit in and around the temple, is held only once every six years, after 56 days of Vedic chanting. Wikipedia describes it as the biggest festival at the temple.

Within any day, remember that darshan runs in short windows, with none between 12:00 and 16:30. The longest windows are 16:30 to 18:15 in the evening, 08:30 to 10:00 in the morning and the first of the day, 03:30 to 04:45. Men must change into a mundu and leave shirts and phones at the locker counter first, so arrive well before your window opens.

Tips before you go

• Only Hindus may enter the temple, according to Kerala Tourism.
• Men must wear a Kerala mundu with veshti and no shirt. Trousers, shorts and shirts are left at the locker counter.
• Women should wear a saree or half-saree. The temple does not allow trousers or short dresses.
• Leave your phone, camera, smartwatch and other electronic devices behind, as none are allowed inside.
• Check the darshan timing page on spst.in before you go. On festival days a dated schedule replaces the usual windows.
• Kerala Tourism warns that worship timings may change at festival time.